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MoneyNati Shochat/Flash 90

The Trump administration is preparing major cuts in U.S. foreign aid across the world, but plans to increase aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA), Haaretz reported on Monday, citing internal State Department documents published by Foreign Policy magazine.

The documents are an internal budget plan that seems in line with the administration's stated goal of a deep cut of more than a third of the State Department and USAID's total budget.

The documents show major cuts in foreign aid to numerous countries in all continents, but a small rise of 4.6% in foreign aid to the PA-assigned areas of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, which would go up to $215 million for the 2018 fiscal year.

Other places in the Middle East that would see increased aid spending, according to the documents, are Syria, Iraq and Libya, which will all see hundreds of millions of dollars invested. All other countries in the Middle East that appear in the document, however, will suffer severe cuts in aid.

Aid to the PA has been cut and restored by Washington several times in recent years. Most recently, in the final hours of his administration, former President Barack Obama defied Republican opposition and quietly released $221 million to the PA.

Following that revelation, the State Department said it was reviewing the payment and could make adjustments to ensure it complies with the Trump administration's priorities.

In March, the State Department confirmed that Obama's money had reached its destination, with State Department spokesman Mark Toner indicating the money was mostly for humanitarian purposes.

The issue of U.S. aid to the PA made headlines was when the PA unilaterally applied to join the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Obama administration indicated at the time it was reviewing its annual $440 million aid package to the PA because of the decision.

Republican Senator Rand Paul later introduced a bill that would immediately halt aid to the PA until it halts its effort to join the ICC.

In September of 2011, a $192 million aid package was frozen by Congress after the PA submitted a failed unilateral bid for United Nations membership.

In April of 2012, Obama bypassed a Congress block and signed a waiver declaring that aid to the Palestinian Authority is “important to the security interests of the United States.